Aircraft



Oct. 20, 1931. w. J. CLINE ET AL 1,828,026

' AIRCRAFT Filed Sept. 5. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l 'INVENTOR WALTER J. CLINE BY MARTIN Fv WAeNEQ WWW ATTORNEY 2 Sheets-Sheer. 2

Oct. 20, 1931. w. .1. CLINE ET AL AIRCRAFT Filed Sept. 3, 1929- Patented Oct. 20, 1931 WALTER J. ciann AND MARTIN r. waennn or SAN DIEGO, cALIronn IA;

AIRCRAFT- 4 Our invention relates to aircraft, and more particularly to airplanes, and theobjects of our invention arey First, to'provideanair-.

M craft having greater'inherent longitudinal 1 stability'tha'n aircraft heretofore constructed; second, toprovide an aircraft having greater facility for elevational control, and one' in which the craft will respond readily and easily to such control;third, to provide and load capacity; fourth, to providean aircraft'of this classin 'which the dead and live loads need not be distributed-with respect to th eilift of the wings, that is, in which the' load distribution is not'subject to -balance;

fifth, to provide a fuselage'.-foraairplanes which is flexible intermediate its endssothat, when a long fuselage is employed, the same willjnot be subjeeted to the extreme strains,

" either when'in'fiight or when" 1an 1ing,i; as in" the case of the rigid fuselage; sixth, tofpro vide afuselage for airplanes in which the fuselageismade of front-"and rear sections infwhich the whole'is controlledelevationally and directionally-by controls at the rear-end of the body; eighth, to provide as a whole a."

novelly constructed aircraft of [this class, and ninth, to provide such an 1 aircraft. which is simple and economical of construction, durable, easy to controland which will not read-; ily deteriorate or get out of o-rder.=

With these'and other obj'ectsin view as will appear hereinafter, our invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of-parts and portions as Will be hereinafter described in detail and particularly set'forth infthe appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and. to {the characters of reference thereon;- which form" a} part of 7 this "application, in whichz a F gure 1 1s a slde' V1W ofan'ai rplane 1n corporat' ng our invention, show ng by dotted lines the rear section of the airplane shift-p ed to a lower inclined position with respect-to w an aircraft of this class having greater lift.

permits a relative'lycclose joint between. two

manta fi led sete beia, 1929, fseaaim; aariios.

the front section; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view thereof; Fig. 3 is an enlarged part1al'"sect1onal and partial elevational view] 7 i "U TED OFF thereof showing particularly the piv'otedconi;

nection between the front and rear'sections; Flg. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view thereof taken through H of Fig. 3, and Fig. '5 is a fragmentary partial sectional and partial form of construction of "our-invention.

Like characters of reference referto-simi views of'the drawings.-

lar parts and portions throughout several The embodimentofour trated inthe; drawings, is'in 'a monoplane ype i 'planefbut it will be Iu'nderstood; that our invention may be embodied in-other types of airplanes-or other aircraft.' i

:side elevationaljview-of a slightly modified invnaonas' illus-V c5 The body of theairplan'elor aircraft illus 1 trated' is a long fuselage consistingo'f afr'ont fuselage-member or sectionl' and a rear fuse;

. lage 'memberor sections. The forwardend of the rear-fuselage member or sectionQL-is' front fuselage member or sectionIona hori zontal axlsfb'y means of a pivot pin 8 or other "suitable" pivot means? Thepivot'al axis eX- tendsitran's'ver'sely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage sections so that I the rear section 'may-"move angularly, 11ppivotally c'onnected to the rear endo' f--the wardly or downwardly withrespectto the front section. As shown in the drawings, the forward end of the rear section is positioned intermediate the side walls at the rear end of .e l

"between the upper and lower walls thereof,

as shown best in Fig. 3, "Such construction This -curved portion at the 1 r sections and'permits the air to flowfreelypast the'jo-ints between the two. sectionsgAt. the

lateral sides of the front section'l may be se- 7 curediplates 4:. for covering the-joint between. 1

the two'l sections and ".for stream1ining the"in? 7 sides of the fuselage between the front and rear sections, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

The front fuselage member or section 1 is supported independently from the rear section by a wing 5 in the form of a wingof a monoplane. This wing is provided with ailerons 6 at its trailing edge as in conventional airplane construction. 1' r The rear fuselage member or section2 is also independently supported at its forward end by a'wing7, also inthe form of a wing" of a monoplane. The wing 7 is preferably positioned slightly above the fuselage sec-- tion 2, as shown, so that the same will not interfere with the upward and downward shifting of the rear fuselage section. The rear wing 7 is-also preferably provided with aile rons'8 whichare preferably controlled simultaneously with theaileronsfi (the control not being shown). 1 a

, The front fuselage section is not rovided with stabilizers or controls, but such stabilizers and controlsare provided at the rear end of the ,rear section only. These stabilizers and controls, consistingof the vertical stabili- Zer- 9, the horizontal stabilizers 10, the rudported by the;usual undercarriage 13 which may be al anding gear for land planes, as

shown,,- or pontoons forhydroplanes. The

refar 'end of the forward section, when adapt jingsthe aircraft for alighting onland,'ispro vided with a tail skid 14.- in the form ofia car? At the: rear end of the rear section may be provided, the usual tail, skid 5 .15, as shown.

riage'or wheel.

The airplane maybe propelled bymotors 16 and propellers 17 mounted in the nose of the front fuselage-section and in. front of the front wing at either side of the fuselage, the motors mounted at the sidesof thefuselage being supported in anysuitable manner from the wings or the front, section of the fuselage. In the modified structure shown inFig. 5.,

' the rear wing-'2' is mounted on both the rear end of the front section of the fuselage and on the forward portion "of i the rear section. The, wing 'Z in this modifie'dform'ofconstruction is pivotally mounted at the undere side and near the entering'edge, preferably at the front spar, on struts 18 extendingupwardly' from the rear endi'o-fthe front secega- The'rear portion? ofthe iwing i'sg pivot'ally-inountedj preferably atrthe rear spar of thejwi'ng 7.,"0'11 strutsl9 whi-ch are pivotal- 1 y noountt-zd at theirlo'wcr ends: on the upper portion and near theforward; end of the rear connects.

section, as shown in Fig. 5. However, it will be obvious that these struts 19 may be extended longer and pivoted at the middle or at the lower side of the rear section near the front end. \Vith the construction shown in Fig. 5, the angular shifting of the wing 7 with respect to; the rear fuselage section 2 is approximately the same as in the other structure described, but the position thereof with respect to the rear end of the front "section 1 and with respect to'the pivotal axis of both fuselage sections is substantially fixed. Thestructure shown in Fig. 5 also the two fuselage sections more rigidly.

In bothjstructures,

it willbe' noted, that the center of liftof the rear wing is substan daily in linewith the pivotal axis of the two sections'so that the angle of the following or rear wingmay be readily. va-ried'by the controls attheftail of the rear section of the Iuselage. i

w Though-we have shown and "described a particular construction, combinationand ar rangement' of parts and portions, anda cer tain embodiment of our invention, and a certain modification thereof, we do not wish to be limited to this particularconstruction, combination and arrangement, nor to the modification, but, desire toinclude in l the combination and arrangement Subs antially as set forth'in the appended claims i 1 Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire 'to secureby LettersPatent is: a I a 1. In, an aircraft; of the classdescribed, a long body comprising front and rear sections pivotally connected at their adjacent ends on a horizontal axis extending trans scope of our invention of the construction,

versely to the body, horizontal supporting wingspositioned at and connected to .the forward ends of the front and-rear sections.

long aircrafthody comprising front and :2. Ina-n aircraftofthe class described, a'

rear sections p-ivotally connected together at their adjacent ends on a horizontal axisextending transversely with respect to. the body, a horizontaljairfoil positioned at the pivotal connection. of thetwosections and pivotally connected to .the adj acent end portions'of each, and control surfaces on the rear section-. I V; VI

= 3. Infan aircraft of the class described-,a

' fuselage member: having a supporting wing at. its-forwardend, a seco'nd fuselage .member pivotal ly eonnectedlat'its forward end to, therear; end of thefi-rst fuselage member, said second. fuselage member also having a supporting wing the: normal center of lift thereof being substantially inline with the V pivotal: aorimofE-isaid second fuselage, and "means.forwcontrolling the alinement and an,

gular shifting of; the fuselage members with respectjto eachothertf.

4:. In anaircraft of the class described, a fuselage member having a supporting wing at its forward end, a second fuselage member pivotally connected at its forward end to Y the rear'end of the first fuselage member, said second fuselage member also having a supporting wing, the normal center of lift thereof being substantially in line with the pivotal axis of said second fuselage, and control surfaces at the rear end of the second fuselage member for controlling the aircraft.

5. In an aircraft of the class described, a fuselage member having a supporting wing at its forward end, a second fuselage member pivotally connected at its forward endto the rear end of the first fuselage member, said second fuselage member also having a supaircraft, the supporting wing at the forward end of the second fuselage member "being pivotally connected at its forward portionto the rear end of thefirstfuselage member and" at its rear portion to the second fuselage member.

7. In an aircraft of the class described, a

fuselage member having a supporting wing at its forward end, a second fuselage mem- V ber pivotally connected at its forward end to i the rearend of the first fuselage member, said the forward supporting wing.

second fuselage member also having a s'upportlng wing, means for plvoting sald latter wing relative to said first fuselage member, means for controlling the aircraft, and means streamlining said fuselage members with each other at their vpivotal connection.

8. In an aircraft of the class described, a long fuselage flexible intermediate its ends, a supporting wing at the forward end of the fuselage, a second supporting wing at the flexible portion of the fuselage, said latter wing adapted to assume an angle relative to said first wing on flexure of said fuselage, and control surfaces at the rearend of the fuselage. V

I 9. In an aircraft of the class described, a long fuselage flexible intermediateits ends, a supporting wing at the forward end of the fuselage, a second wing-at the flexible porsupporting meansat the forward end of the both sections and atthe rear end of the rear section, a supporting wing at the forward portion of the front section, a second supfront section and at the pivotal portion of porting wing at the front portion of the rear section, and controlling surfaces end of the rearsection. 7 I 11. In an aircraft ofthe class described, a long fuselage comprising a forward section and a rear section pivotally connected at their adjacent ends and substantially alined, supporting means at the forward end of the front section and at the pivotalportion of both sections and at the rear end of the rear section, an airfoil at the forward portion of the front section, and an airfoil atthe forward portion of the rearsection. j 12. In an aircraft of the class described, a

at the rear long fuselage comprising a forwardsection and a rear section pivotally connected at their adjacent ends and substantially alined, supporting means at the forward end of the front section and atothe pivotal portion of both sectionsand at the rearend of the rear section, an airfoil at the forward portion of the front section, and an airfoil at the for-.

ward portion of the rear section, said airfoil being pivotally connected to the rear end of the front section and V to the forward portion of the rear section.

In testimonywhereof, we have hereunto set our hands at San Diego, California, this 29th day of August, 1929.

WALTER J. OLINE. c MARTIN WAGNER. V

tion of the fuselage, control surfaces at the 1 rear end of the fuselage and propelling means at the forward portion of the fuselage and 10. In an aircraft-of the class described, a

long fuselage comprising a forward section I 

